Combined inflated support and utility bag



Feb. 20, 1951 c. D. CART COMBINED INFLATED SUPPORT AND UTILITY BAG Filed July so, 1948 [N1 EX TOR. C ECJL D. CART i atented Feb. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED INFLATED SUPPORT AND UTILITY BAG Cecil Denver Cart, Buflalo, N. Y.

Application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,475

2 Claims. 1

- server, and has a pair of end handles facilitating such use of the article, and also serves equally well in the deflated condition of the latter for bringing the ends together and using the ensemble as a utility bag.

A further object is to provide an inflatable cushion or preserver of the indicated character with an interior support or frame, preferably in the form of a wire basket or the like, about which the cushion in deflated condition may be Wrapped for enclosing and carrying the basket.

It is also an object to have such an inflatable cushion or the like adapted for enveloping a wire carrying basket which has meeting and overlapping edges, with the meeting edges provided with hookless fasteners for closing the deflated cushion entirely about the basket to form therewith the utility bag as indicated.

A practical object is, of course, to provide such a double-use article in useful sizes at reasonable cost.

Other objects and advantages of my inventionwill appear in further detail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for a proper appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention is illustrated on the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a combined inflated support and utility bag in deflated condition of the support and a portion thereof shown open in order to disclose a wire basket within;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same support and utility bag in completely closed position forming a portable unit.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken through line 3-3 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the inflated support alone when unwrapped from the wire basket and inflated to form the air cushion or emergency life preserver;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the inflated support of Figure 4.

In the views, the same reference numerals indicate the same or like parts.

At the seashore or at lake side shores, it is a matter of convenience to have means for yieldingly supporting one or more persons sitting on the ground, and at such places it is also on occasion an absolute necessity to have a life preserver at hand. It is, likewise, quite usual to bring along bathing suits as well as lunches in the form of sandwiches, fruit and some beverage in a box or package. All too often these various articles if brought along to the shore constitute a burden and source of confusion, although some people have resorted to conventional carrying bags, but that adds even more to the confusion by having an additional article to deal with, and even more might be commented with respect to this condition.

In view of the mentioned situation, it has occurred to me that an air cushion, life preserver and utility carrying bag may well be'combined into a portable unit in which selective use thereof is afforded, and as a result I have succeeded in producing a double-use article of wide use and appeal which enhances the desirability of visiting the shore, as will now be particularly described.

Hence, in the practice of my invention, and referring again to the drawing, a combined support and utility bag generally indicated at 6 primarily includesa deflated cushion I having two ends 8 and 9 and the end portions of two sides It and H thereof equipped with hookless fasteners l2, [2 controlled by a slider [3, the cushion being arranged to enclose a wire basket indicated at It consisting of a rectangular frame I5 having upwardly-extending ends H5, I6 and at the bottom a sheet metal container or box I! with a substantially flat bottom is. The members of the wire basket I 4, including also the bottom container I! and the upwardly-extending ends, may be soldered, brazed, riveted or otherwise secured together in any manner known in the art to form a virtually rigid internal support for the cushion I in its deflated condition. The basket serves well to hold the cushion in such shape that various articles, such as bathing'suits and lunch, may be inserted words, the ends 8 and 9 virtually form upwardlyextending flaps which are connected together about the wire basket M by means of the hookless fasteners. As best seen in Figures 4 and 5,

the cushion 1 includes a series of inflatable cells 20, 29, etc., interconnected in such fashion that a pneumatic valve 21 may be used to inflate the series by the breath at will. The cushion is provided with side edges or flanges l and II, as already indicated, which extend beyond the ends of the cells 20, which at their intermediate portions 22, 23 are provided with snap fasteners 24, 24 adapted to engage with corresponding snap fasteners upon the ends of container I! (on shown) allowing the cushion in deflated condition to be snapped in position upon the mentioned box or container so as to accurately locate the cushion as a proper wrapper for the wire basket H5, and ensure that the'flaps 8 and 9 will meet above the upwardly-projecting members l6, 16. When the fastener members 24, 24 are engaged with the corresponding fastener members 25, 25 on the ends of the bottom container 11, as already intimated, triangular portions 26, 26 on one side and 21, 21 on the other side will overlap when the ends or flaps 8 and 9 are brought up to the top of the wire basket ends I6, l6 and the fasteners l2, l2 engaged together by glider l3, but when the cushion is released and laid out fiat, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the intermediate portions 22 and 23, as well as the overlapping portions 26, 26 and 21, ZLrespectively, which form the base for the utility bag and support thereon the wire basket 14, will merely form continuous parts of the extending sides I0 and H beyond the ends of the air cells 20, 20, so that the latter will simply have marginal edges at the sides thereof and as a whole form a virtually rectangular article capable of lying flat upon the ground.

It is evident that when the cushion is inflated in its unfolded fiat condition, it will serve Well as a mattress or cushion upon which to sit upon the ground without fatigue and also, due to the presence of the end handles 19, 19, it will serve as well as an emergency life preserver when tossed into the water. When the cushion is thus free of the wire basket M, the latter may simply stand upon the ground and perhaps be sheltered by some articles of clothing or newspaper or the like to keep the sunlight off the articles within the same, which may have been brought to serve as lunch at the seashore and the upper project.- ing ends I6, 16 of the basket then serve as end handles by which to manipulate the same and carry it about as may be required when at the seashore. When the cushion is no longer to be used and the lunch has been disposed of, the wire basket is simply stood upon cushion 1 transversely thereof after deflating the latter and the two snap fasteners 24, 24 caused to engage on the corresponding snap fasteners 25, 25 on the ends of the basket container I! when the slider may be caused to engage both of the hookless fasteners l2, l2 and then slid along the entire length of the same to close the end flaps 8 and 9, when the entire ensemble will again be ready for use as a carrier to contain the wet bathing suits or towels, etc., to thereby serve as a distinct convenience even at the time of departing from the seashore for home.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used Without others within the scope of the appended T' claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. A corrbined inflatable support and utility bag, including a substantially rectangular and elongated cushion member having the ends thereof forming closing flaps and equipped externally with a pair of complementary handles, a series of air cells upon the cushion member having an inflation valve connected thereto, opposite side edges extending along both sides of the series of air cells upon said cushion member, a substantially rectangular and rigid open-work basket having upwardly-extending opposite ends over which the closing flaps are adapted to fit in closed condition thereof, fastener means for detachably securing the flaps together in closed condition at will, and corresponding fastener means on the ends of said basket and the intermediate portions of the opposite side edges of said cushion member for locating the basket in predetermined position upon and detachably attaching the latter to said cushion member to ensure subsequent meeting of the closing flaps of said cushion member upon the upwardly-extending ends of said basket with the handles projecting upwardly in mutually-adjacent and opposite positions.

2. A combined inflatable support and utility bag, including a substantially rectan ular and elongated cushion member having the ends thereof forming closing flaps and equipped externally with a pair of complementary handles, a series of air cells upon the cushion member having an inflation valve connected thereto, opposite side edges extending along both sides of the series of air cells upon said cushion member, hookless fastener means upon the ends and sides of the end flaps adapted to be engaged mutually when said flaps are brought together, a substantially rigid rectangular wire basket having upwardlyextending opposite ends over which the end flaps are adapted to fit in closed condition thereof, a substantially rectangular upwardly-open container or box upon the wire basket forming the bottom thereof, a pair of snap fasteners upon the opposite ends .of the container and a pair of corresponding snap fasteners upon the intermediate portions of the opposite side edges of said cushion member for detachably engaging therewith and thereby attaching the container to said cushion member in predetermined position of the basket upon the latter in order to ensure the meeting of the closing flaps of said cushion member upon the upwardly-extending ends of said basket with the handles projectin upwardly in mutualy adjacent and opposite positions.

CECIL DENVER CART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

